Critic's Review
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Royal Trux celebrated their freedom from Virgin and return to Drag City by releasing Singles, Live, Unreleased, a sprawling 32-song set filled with rarities and obscurities. Sure, it seems like this falls into the "fans-only" category, but this mess has a certain charm. Also, in its own way, it captures what Royal Trux is all about, containing equal amounts of pretension, noise, blues-rock, attitude, and menace. Neil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema were the perfect fusion of the Rolling Stones and Sonic Youth, a concept that didn't always yield listenable or great results -- how could it? -- but when it worked, it was among the greatest indie rock of their era. And while this is by definition arcane music, it also frequently captures the group at their best and, even better, captures the group the way they really are.
